Central Banking
Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey, Mar 2003
Activity in the region's manufacturing sector weakened in March, according to firms surveyed for March's Business Outlook Survey. This represents a deterioration from the basically flat performance in February. Indexes for general activity and new orders…
Bank of Japan Monetary Policy Meeting, 25 March
Details of the Bank of Japan's emergency monetary policy meeting held on 25 March.
Bernanke advocates more Fed transparency
Ben Bernanke said in a speech on Tuesday 25 March that the Federal Reserve could benefit from setting an inflation target. An explicit inflation goal was in his view the best way for the Fed to achieve stable prices.
BoJ calls emergency meeting on Iraq
The Bank of Japan held an emergency meeting on Tuesday 25 March to discuss what effect war in Iraq might have on the Japanese economy, according to a report by Associated Press. The bank also announced that it would increase its purchase of commercial…
Fed's Kohn: No need for Fed to target inflation
In apparent contrast to Ben Bernanke's comments Donald Kohn said in a speech released Monday March 24 and reported by Reuters that he was sceptical that for the United States the potential benefits of changing to a regime of inflation targeting would…
Irish central bank- Euro economies underperforming
The governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, John Hurley, has described the current period as a time of exceptional uncertainty in the world economy. In a speech delivered in Dublin and reported by Dow Jones Newswires, he said the outlook for global…
ECB's Issing sees continued euro volatility
Otmar Issing of the ECB said on Tuesday March 25 that continued uncertainty would have an impact on the euro exchange rate, according to an Online report. He also said the euro is a candidate for a strong international role. But that we should not forget…
Fed's Guynn: Uncertainty a barrier to recovery
Atlanta Fed chief Jack Guynn said on Monday 24 that uncertainty over the war in Iraq, terrorism and oil prices would hinder recovery but that he expects a modest upturn in the economy later this year, according to a Dow Jones report.
Robert Gerard appointed to RBA board
Businessman and long-time Liberal Party supporter Robert Gerard has been appointed to the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia. according to a report in The Age The move drew immediate criticism from the Opposition. Gerard said his experiencing in…
CentralBankNet Monday Special Feature
SPECIAL FEATURE - Ernesto Savona, professor of law and criminology at the Catholic University of Sacro Cuore of Milan, recently gave an exclusive interview to The Financial Regulator journal. In the interview he said that a political decision to stamp…
BoJ calls ad hoc monetary policy meeting
The Bank of Japan has called an ad hoc monetary policy meeting for Tuesday, March 25, to review the prevailing severe economic and financial conditions including the effect of military action against Iraq and consider necessary steps with respect to…
Speeches by governor and dep gov of Brazil cb
The governor and deputy governor of the Central Bank of Brazil, Henrique Meirelles and Beny Parnes, gave presentations at the IDB Annual Meeting in Milan.
William White on international financial crises
BIS economic adviser William White gave a speech at a conference in Berne on the prevention, management and resolution of international financial crises, concluding that the troubling degree of instability in the global financial system is such that…
Death of Governor of Central Bank of Iran
The governor of Iran's central bank, Mohsen Nourbakhsh, died of a heart attack in Tehran on Sunday 23 March, Irna, Iran's offical news agency, reported yesterday.
Russian Central Bank acts to hold ruble steady
The ruble held steady on Friday March 21 as the Central Bank of the Russian Federation stuck to its promise to minimise exchange rate volatility in a market nervous at the start of hostilities in the Gulf, according to a report in the Moscow Times.
IMF: monetary policy for vulnerable economies
The IMF has issued a working paper on 'Monetary Policy Rules for Financially Vulnerable Economies', noting, inter alia, that emerging market economies are not financially robust and are unable to smooth out large external shocks. The paper examines…
Swiss rates on hold
The Swiss National Bank kept its key interest rate unchanged and repeated that that it could intervene to stop an appreciation of the Swiss franc, according to a Dow Jones report.
Fukui calls emergency meeting
Toshihiko Fukui, the new governor at the Bank of Japan called an emergency meeting of the policy board for Tuesday morning, March 25, according to the Financial Times, fuelling expectations that the central bank intends to take further emergency measures.
New regulator means new focus for the PBOC
The creation of a new banking system regulator allows the People's Bank of China to concentrate on interest rate reform.
IMF reviews book on ME monetary policy
IMF review of 'Monetary Policy and Exchange Rate Regimes - Options for the Middle East', edited by Elina Cardoso and Ahmed Galal
G10 report on collective action clauses
G10 ministers and governors have approved the publication of a report setting out the key features of collective action clauses for sovereign bonds designed to contribute to the more rapid and orderly resolution of debt crises.
Finance and economics of Papua New Guinea
In a speech at the 38th SEACEN Governor's Conference in Manila in February, the governor of the Bank of Papua New Guinea, L Wilson Kamit, CBE, offered his overview of financial and economic developments in the country.
Norges Bank: new version of 100-krone note
Norges Bank is to put a new version of the 100-krone note into circulation on 25 March to safeguard against counterfeiting.
ECB's Issing downbeat on 'sluggish' euro growth
Speaking to the EU Parliament, the ECB 's chief economist, Otmar Issing observed that economic growth in the eurozone is expected to be 2% for the year, thoough this will put downward pressure on inflation, according to Reuters